A quick reference document for common leguminous plants, by Varun, Humble Earth Farms.
Most of the foods we call "beans", "legumes", "lentils" and "pulses" belong to the same biological family, Fabaceae ("leguminous" plants), but are from different genera and species, with different homelands and distribution worldwide. Many varieties are eaten both fresh (the whole pod, and the whole immature beans may or may not inside) and shelled (immature seeds, mature and fresh seeds, or mature and dried seeds). There are many leguminous trees too, from which we derive important and essential non-edible and edible products.
Further, leguminous trees and plants are particularly valued in agronomy and natural systems for their ability to “fix” nitrogen from the air into the soil using a synergistic relationship with rhizobium bacteria in their roots, therefore acting as anywhere from a minor supplementary nitrogen fertilizer to the sole primary N fertilizer in a piece of land, depending on the variety of legume, agronomic system and the specific strain of Rhizobium’s ability.
The seeds of many legume varieties look similar, and have become naturalized in locations across the world, which often lead to multiple similar names. So, Indian names and local names are mentioned below wherever possible and relevant.
<aside> 💡 **I have replicated a version of this page and the table below in the Wikipedia article for beans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean (**Version: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bean&oldid=1035077951). However, the version in this notion note has much more detail that Wikipedia's policies would not allow.
You can also find my wiki user page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Hestmatematik
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Leguminous Plants/Shrubs and Parts Used